How to put your education to work on your resume

Use what you've learned to your advantage. Learn how and where to include your education on your resume.

Kim Isaacs, Monster Resume Expert

Include your educational background on your resume.

Whether you're a Harvard-educated MBA or recently obtained your GED, you can use your resume's education section to outshine your competition. If you are unsure about the best way to present your education, we laid out some common scenarios and strategies below.

Where to place education?

The best placement depends on what you are trying to emphasize.

Place experience before education if you have five or more years of experience related to your goal. Hiring managers will be more interested in your job accomplishments than your education.

Place education before experience if you are a recent graduate or have fewer than five years of work experience. If you are changing careers and have continued your education to support your new goal, education should come first. Academic and scientific professionals typically place education before experience on their CVs.

High GPA

If you are a student or recent graduate, list your GPA if it is 3.0 or higher. Consider including a lower GPA if you are in a very challenging program. Add your major GPA if it's higher than your overall GPA. If your school doesn't use the standard 4.0 scale, avoid confusion by listing the scale (e.g. GPA: 4.1/4.5). As your career progresses, college GPA becomes less important and can be removed.

Honors

Include academic honors to show you excelled in your program. For example:

New grads

Students and new grads with little related work experience may use the education section as the centerpiece of their resumes, showcasing academic achievements, extracurricular activities, special projects and related courses. For example:

ABC College—Brooklyn, New York
BA in Communications, concentration in advertising, anticipated graduation May 2012

Degree incomplete

If you abandoned an educational program, list the number of credits completed or the type of study undertaken. For example:

College of Staten Island—Staten Island, New York
Completed 90 credits toward a BA in political science, 1997 to 2000

Experienced job seekers

If you are focusing more on experience than education, list the basic facts regarding your degree, including institution name, location, degree, major and date. For example:

New Jersey College—Newark, New Jersey
BS in Economics, Minor in Psychology, June 1992

High school information

Include your high school or GED information if you don't have any college credits. If you have college credits, remove references to high school.

Educational credentials lacking?

Some job seekers are concerned that their educations don't measure up to HR requirements. If you don't have a degree but have been participating in ongoing training, list your related courses, seminars, conferences and training in the Education section (create a list called "Professional Development"). Your training might be so impressive that the employer will overlook your lack of a formal degree. For example:

Professional development highlights:

Product Launch in a Global Marketplace

Ecommerce Solutions

Selling the Dotcom Vision

Increasing Sales Through Relationship Selling

Professional Management Program

Get smart about your resume

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